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I was born and raised in Japan. My parents were missionaries with FEGC/SEND, Int’l, an inter-denominational mission board. The third of six kids, I’m the only daughter. Dad and Mom served in Japan for about 30 years, and then were 12 years in Taiwan. All six of us graduated from a school for missionary kids in Tokyo before returning to the states for college. Until I was in the 4th grade, we lived out in the country where my folks served rural Japanese communities. Then we lived in Yokohama for a few years, followed by a time at the foot of beautiful Mt. Fuji. During my 7th grade year we were able to move within walking distance of the school, Christian Academy in Japan. Up until that time, from the first half of 7th grade, I was in the dormitory, along with three of my brothers.
We usually took the trains to school early Monday morning, then Dad would drive out and bring us home on Friday afternoon for the weekend. I remember that often our Friday after-school snack in the dorm was chocolate-covered donuts. But they never set well in my stomach as we plowed our way home through Tokyo smog and traffic. I’ll leave the outcome to your imagination, but suffice it to say that although I love chocolate and am quite fond of donuts, to this day I do not care for chocolate-covered donuts!
I did get homesick some, and the year we were 7-day boarders was harder. Overall, though, my experiences in the dorm were positive and I enjoyed school. All of our clothes had to be labelled with our own laundry number. Mine was 38. I remember watching my mom busily sewing laundry tags in each item as we readied to return to school every fall. With our socks, however, she would embroider the number. I think the only number harder to stitch than 38 would have been 88!
Being in the dorm can be difficult on the children and the whole family. But our times together were always special and my folks were very purposeful about concentrating their energies on capturing these times. I never felt like I was in the way of ministry or that we were a detriment to their work. But it was a huge blessing for all of us when we moved close enough to school to live at home, commuting back and forth each day.
Family life was good and I had a wonderful childhood. Dad and Mom had a deep-seated integrity about the way they lived their lives. They loved the Lord and were committed to living out their walk with Him in everyday life and ministry. They considered their marriage and family to be a God-given priority, and this had a big impact on all six of us. I am extremely grateful for the godly heritage they passed on to us.
When asked “What was it like growing up in Japan?” the only response I can think of is “What was it like growing up in Indiana, Michigan, or Ohio? To me it was just normal. We did what all kids do, just in a different place. We were all involved in sports, music, summer camp, youth group, shopping, overnights with friends, etc. But I do consider it a real privilege to have been able to spend those years in Japan, and I have wonderful memories of life there.
Back in those days before plane travel we crossed the ocean by ship, about a 14 day voyage, as I recall. My grandparents lived in Kansas and Iowa, so we would concentrate much of our furlough time there. When I was three, almost four, we were preparing to return to Japan. The church in my mom’s hometown presented the four of us kids with our own little suitcase. Each one was filled with small wrapped gifts, one for each day on the ship. I still have a couple of these special items.
During this same furlough, shortly before we left my Iowa grandparents’ home for the west coast, we were getting ready for bed one night. Mom read us our Bible story and we sang the little children’s song “Into my heart, into my heart. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus…” I told her I wanted to ask Jesus to come into my heart, and that is when I accepted Jesus as my Savior.
When I graduated from High School I came to the US for college, attending Fort Wayne Bible College as a freshman, then transferring to John Brown University in Arkansas. Upon graduation I moved to Fort Wayne. When Central Soya built their research facility on Cook Road I applied and secured a job in their new test kitchens and laboratory. That was a dream job for me – I loved it. I used to say I wanted to work for Betty Crocker, and this was pretty close!
During this time I was sharing an apartment with two other gals. Since we had one car between the three of us, we all went to church wherever the car went. Blackhawk Baptist Church was the destination! So we all became involved in the College/Career “Varsity” class with Les and Gloria Steidl, and Burt and Sandy Wright. Those were such rich times of growth and encouragement. They were wonderful teachers and mentors. In a lot of ways these two couples filled a gap for me, as my parents were still overseas.
Dale Johnson kindly offered to assist the two of us without a car if we ever needed help in the process of shopping for one. When I was ready I thankfully accepted his gracious offer! We found a sweet little red Mustang and he even loaned me $500 to help pay for it. His girlfriend at the time took exception to the amount of time he was spending with me: they broke up, we started dating, got engaged less than a month later, and were married nine months after that! (For the record, I paid back the $500 before we said “I do”. I guess he got the money, the car, and a wife out of that deal!) The little red Mustang is long gone, but 43 years later we’re still driving around together.
Shortly after we were married we moved to northern Wisconsin and spent three years on staff in a Christian camping ministry. Those were good years of learning, serving and growing. We still return when we can for summer family camps. It’s especially rewarding to be able to share it now with our grandchildren, who love going there. In 1983, Dale was hired as Business Administrator here at Blackhawk, so we moved back to Fort Wayne. Our four children all attended BCS from K – 12th grades. We have seven grandchildren, five in Ft. Wayne (three of which are now at BCS). Our daughter, Delaina, with her husband and two children are in Papua New Guinea where they are serving with Pioneer Bible Translators.
Several highlights stand out over the past 40+ years. Being able to stay at home while our children were young was a huge privilege for me, and I’m so grateful that Dale’s work at the church allowed for that. When Dale made his career switch to Real Estate, I began working for Blackhawk Christian School and enjoyed over 16 years coordinating the Scrip program and serving as a receptionist in the High School office.
Dale and I were able to serve several summers with Tom Cashen on the H.S. West Virginia Raft Trip. Those were particularly rewarding weeks, even though we came home pretty tired! Choir, Living Christmas Tree and our ABF had a very special place in those years. Even though I loved being home with our kids there were some lonely times. Church activities and fellowship filled a lot of that for me.
Dad and Mom were still in Japan, then Taiwan, so it was hard not having them close by during the years when our children were young. This was mostly before the days of email, so much of our communication was via letters and cassette tapes. A phone call was about $3.00/minute, saved only for very important occasions, such as “You have a new grandchild!” It was exciting for us that they retired to Upland, only an hour away, around 1995. The first Mother’s Day they were here, I sent Mom a card as I always had. It was a short time later that it dawned on me – I could have gone down to see her instead of just mailing a card!
Having lived so long on opposites sides of the world from my parents, their retirement years in Upland were a big blessing to our whole family. I remember one furlough when I was in Middle School observing my mother and grandmother having such a good time together in the kitchen. I determined that when I was grown up I wanted that with my mom, too. Those years in Upland fulfilled that desire, as I was able to spend many wonderful days enjoying the friendship and love of both my dad and mom. How grateful I am that our four children had the opportunity to get to know their grandparents during that time. Then we had the privilege of caring for my mother as she lived with us the last four years of her life, which allowed three of our grandchildren to also share that blessing.
I have always loved sewing. Being a tall foreigner in Japan, you can imagine it was difficult to find clothes to fit. So I made most of my clothes all through H.S. I have also enjoyed sewing costumes for many of the BCS dramas over the years. The creative challenges as well as interacting with the students has been very rewarding. Monday mornings are also another sewing outlet for me, as I meet with other ladies in the church lobby to make quilts for the Hope Center and an Assisted Living facility.
One thing the Lord has been especially teaching me in recent years is about trust and faith. Do I truly believe that God is a good God: that He is in the business of redeeming what’s broken, that there is nothing outside of His ability to act, and that He works for our ultimate good in all things? If I truly believe this, then I can rest in His faithfulness and goodness no matter what comes. As Steve and Maria Gardner reminded us so beautifully, “Nothing can happen to me today without passing through my Father’s hands.”
Truly, as it says in Psalm 16:6 “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places! Yes, I have a goodly heritage.”
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